Property Insurance Clearinghouse Getting Started Guide for New Agents

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1 The Property Insurance Clearinghouse is an automated, real-time tool that is able to provide you and your customers with access to a growing number of participating private-market companies currently writing coverage for Florida homeowners. System Access Upon being appointed with Citizens as a personal lines-only agent, you should have received a user access that contained your user name and a one-time use link to set up your password. Once you review your profile information, create a password and set up your security questions, you can log in at any time. To log in: Once you have logged into the Citizens website, select Systems from the top menu, and then select the Clearinghouse clink. Enter your user ID. Enter your password, which is case-sensitive. Click the Log in button. Password Reset If you are locked out of your account, the clearinghouse provides a self-help feature to reset your password. Click Having trouble logging in, then enter your user name and registered address. You will receive an with instructions for resetting your password and accessing your account. Note: This will work when you have completed the security questions in your profile. Acknowledgement and Confirmation and Terms of Use Appointed agents entering the clearinghouse for the first time will need to accept the Acknowledgement and Confirmation statement and accept the Terms of Use. You will not see this information again. 1

2 Carrier Access Tab and User Settings The Carrier Access tab displays all companies with whom you are currently appointed, as well as any company willing to consider providing you a limited servicing agreement (LSA). You must enter credentials for each current appointment: Enter your user name and password. Click the Verify Credentials link. Click the Save button. When your credentials expire or need to be changed, return to the Carrier Access tab and click the Edit button to update your credentials. To request an LSA: Click the Enroll link. Complete the company-required steps. So you can pursue offers of coverage from participating companies, request LSAs immediately. Companies will negotiate appointments and LSAs with agents directly. More information on this process can be found in Obtaining Limited Servicing Agreements, which is accessible from the Property Insurance Clearinghouse tab in the Training and Reference Materials menu on the Citizens website. Starting a New Quote To start a new quote, select the Create New Customer Account button on the clearinghouse Home page. The clearinghouse is organized in an interview format and any questions marked with an asterisk must be answered. The clearinghouse requires an address for the customer, which serves as a unique identifier for the customer. When an applicant has no , enter the first and last name as follows: Firstname.lastname@no .com To continue the quoting process from the Account Screen, select New Personal Quote. 2

3 Address Validation Upon entering the customer s mailing address, the clearinghouse will use Google to validate the address. Google may return variations of the entered address in an effort to provide the best mailing option. To accept the recommended address, click Select. The address field will be updated to reflect the change. You can reject the suggestions by closing the window. Quote Name On the Applicant Information screen, you will be prompted to name your quote. Naming your quote will allow you to find it easily when searching. Be sure to select a name you will be able to remember later. For better reference, include a date when naming a quote. 3

4 Address Standardization When you reach the end of the Applicant Information screen, select Save and Continue. The clearinghouse will reference the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) database to validate the address and will attempt to match address information to populate the PR-M Territory, PR-W Territory and the Wind Eligibility fields. A window will display prompting you to standardize the address. When the address returned matches, the territory and wind eligibility fields will populate automatically. Selecting the Standardized Address option and then clicking the Continue button will update and lock the PR-M territory, PR-W territory and Wind Eligibility fields in the quote interview. Some additional fields will not update automatically, including Terrain, and Protection Class. Refer to Property Information and Wind Eligibility Search Tool (PIWEST) to complete this information. Refer to PIWEST for BCEGS, protection class, flood zone and terrain. 360Value The 360Value cost estimator has been integrated into the clearinghouse. You will be prompted to enter information about the home, which will be used to calculate the replacement cost. (Not applicable to HO-6) Based on the information you enter, 360Value will populate its results to the clearinghouse, including the calculated replacement cost, year built, square footage, number of stories, foundation type and roof cover. To update information in the 360Value tool, click Edit. To get the most accurate replacement cost, complete more than the required fields in the 360Value tool. 4

5 Signed Application The clearinghouse requires that the applicant sign the completed quote application before viewing estimates. To generate an application, either select the click here link or the create application link. A PDF version of the application will open, allowing you to save or print. To continue to the Results page, affirm the signed application has been received. If there is a delay in receiving the signed clearinghouse application, select save for later. This will enable you to return to the application at a later time. Once the signed clearinghouse application has been obtained, select View Offers. This will take you to the Results page. 5

6 Viewing Results Results will display on the Results page as they are returned in real-time. The Citizens offer will display as either Eligible or Ineligible, which will be determined by applying the 15-percent rule to any other offers returned. The offers will be displayed side-by-side from highest to lowest premium, with coverage names listed on the far left and the corresponding values displayed under each company s offer. Any differences in coverage will be highlighted. If a quote is deemed not comparable, it will not be used to make the applicant ineligible for Citizens. Because in most cases, results will be returned immediately, you will not be required to wait two business days before proceeding to bind coverage. Once the results have been returned, the customer will have five days to select an offer of coverage. Always review the Submission Log to confirm that all offers have been returned. To provide your customer with as many choices as possible, complete any required actions to receive additional offers. To access the Submission Log, locate the black toolbar at the bottom of the screen and click the clipboard icon. The Submission Log will provide the status of offers for all companies available Quote to Name you. Details outlining why the quote failed will be available under the Failure Cause On the heading. Applicant Some Information messages screen, may include you will a be Read prompted more hyperlink, to name which your quote. will provide Naming a more your quote detailed will explanation allow you to and easily any find possible it when issues searching. need Be of sure resolution. to select a name you will be able to remember later. To resolve issues noted in the Submission Log, return to the quote interview and make any necessary adjustments. To finish, resubmit the application by selecting View Estimates. If you would like to preview the application before sending, select Preview. 6

7 Proposals When you are satisfied with the offers that have been returned, you can mail or a quote proposal to your customer. You also can download a copy for your files. You also can the proposal by clicking on the envelope icon on the black toolbar. All offers will be included in the proposal. Select Print to print the quote proposal to be sent via mail. Select to send the quote proposal page via . Select Download to save a copy for your files. 7

8 Issuance Once the applicant chooses an offer, you can locate the offering company on the Results page and click Select. A pop-up window will appear indicating that you are leaving the clearinghouse. You will be asked to confirm that all offers have been reviewed with the customer. Note: If the Enroll button displays instead of the Select button, click it to enroll with the company if you have not already done so. If you have already enrolled or are appointed with the company, go to the Carrier Access tab and verify that you have entered correct credentials for that company. Refer to Clearinghouse Updates and Returning Depopulation Policies (ATB # ) for more detailed information on the credentialing process. A quote number will appear in the pop-up window. Write down the quote number as you may need it on the company s website. By clicking the Select button, you will be redirected to the offering company s website. Click the OK button to confirm that you have reviewed all the offers of coverage with the applicant and complete the bridge to the offering company s website. If you are appointed with the offering company, follow the normal binding process for that company. If you are not appointed, you will be presented with the company s LSA process. 8

9 Navigation Tips To navigate within the clearinghouse, never use the browser buttons. Click the Back or Save & Continue buttons or use the arrows located next to the title bars to move from step to step. Search for Quotes There are multiple ways to search the clearinghouse. Search boxes are located on the Home page, and you can search using the customer s name, phone number, address and Citizens Application ID. The customer s address is a unique identifier. You can find an account quicker by searching by . 9

10 On the Home screen, there are two Search boxes. Using these boxes can help you find accounts easier. To select a quote, click the arrow located on the line of the desired quote. Additional functions will become available. 10

11 On the Account screen, you can take several actions by clicking the arrow on a quote line. This will display the options to Open, Copy or Delete the quote. Selecting Open will take you to the first page of the quote interview. Selecting Delete will remove the quote. Selecting Copy will allow you to create a new version of an existing quote. The quote interview will open to the Applicant Information screen, where you will be prompted to name the new quote. When you copy a quote, previously entered information will be prefilled in the quote interview. Navigate to the area you want to edit, and make the needed revisions. Be sure to navigate to View Estimates on the Home Characteristics screen to update offers. Use the Copy function to eliminate a duplicate entry. Toolbar The toolbar is located at the bottom of each screen and provides easy access to several basic functions. Returns to the Home page Returns to the first page of the interview Displays versions of the quote Locks and unlocks the quote Opens the Submission Log Sends the proposal 11

12 Training and Resources Clearinghouse training is critical to your success. Citizens has created a variety of training resources, which includes online modules and job aids. Agents appointed to write personal lines business with Citizens are encouraged to complete all clearinghouse training. Access online clearinghouse training from the Clearinghouse section of the Personal training page. 12